7.1 How to calculate it?
There is no exact quantitative definition of GNH, but elements that contribute to it are subject to quantitative measurement. Med Jones, President of International Institute of Management, introduced an enhanced GNH concept, treating happiness as a socioeconomic development metric. It tracks socioeconomic development in 7 areas

– Social Wellness: measured by direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics (discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates, etc.)

– Political Wellness: measured by direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics (quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts, etc.)

7.2 What does it mean?
Gross national happiness (GNH) was coined in 1972 by then Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. GNH is based on the premise that some forms of development are not measurable in monetary terms (a concept that is advanced by the nascent field of ecological economics) while conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective.

7.3 Where are references and further information?
http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/

2 Comments for this entry

in line with the promotion of „Gross National Happiness“ we created a Simpleshow that explains the movement of GNH and comments on the added value for the people, the environment, the social structure and the economy. Furthermore, it shows the influence on other countries that try to adopt GNH´s maxime.